Why Paul McCartney is the most successful musician of all time | GO – Arts & entertainment | omaha.com

By any measure, Paul McCartney is the most successful musician of all time.With his bands and his solo career, Sir Paul has sold more albums than anyone. McCartney is among the top Grammy winners, and he has dozens of platinum albums.Of course it helps that he was part of the Beatles.With 178 million albums sold, the Fab Four are the top-selling artist of all time in the U.S. The group had 43 platinum certifications, 26 multiplatinum and six diamond.But McCartney’s solo work and his material with Wings have kept him in the spotlight, selling albums and winning more awards since the Beatles’ breakup. And McCartney’s tours have ranked among the top 15 worldwide for the last six years.We took a look at McCartney and the Beatles statistics, and, in some cases, checked to see how he and they compare with other major musicians. See the stats below.Credit where credit’s dueSome might say McCartney deserves only ¼ of the credit for his time in the Beatles.I say no.He should get full credit.The reason is twofold: First, he and Lennon wrote or co-wrote nearly every song the band released. Second, every Beatle should get full credit for being a Beatle.Even Ringo. Especially Ringo.Because he “only played drums” and “didn’t even write that many songs” and “only sang lead a few times” shouldn’t make Ringo a lesser member. He was as important in his own way as anyone else in that band.Same with McCartney. You can’t talk about him as an artist without acknowledging his membership in the biggest rock band of all time. It’s impossible to separate the two.Album sales203.5 million178 million from the Beatles, 15.5 million solo, 10 million with Wings*Grammy Awards18 wins, 78 nominations11 wins with the Beatles, 4 solo, 3 with Wings**Platinum certifications58 platinum, 31 multiplatinum, 6 diamond42 platinum, 26 multiplatinum and 6 diamond with the Beatles;9 platinum and 4 multiplatinum solo;7 platinum and 1 multiplatinum with Wings*No. 1 songs2620 with the Beatles, 6 with Wings on Billboard’s Hot 100No. 1 albums2219 with the Beatles, 2 solo, 1 with Wings*Source: The RIAA**Source: Grammy.com